"Commentary from the Countryside"Thoughts on current events, history, homesteading, preparedness, real food, and anything else I find interesting, from a cranky, middle-aged woman's common-sense perspective.

Thursday, January 12, 2012

Winter is Back

A dismal, cold rain finally gave way to snow this afternoon. I'd rather have the snow; that rain is just miserable the way the bone-chilling damp penetrates anything but a stout Carhartt jacket. The weather guys are jumping up and down with warnings and advisories, but I think that's more for ratings than an actual huge weather event. We are the Great Lake State, and it is January, nobody should be surprised by lake effect snow! I have the truck hitched up to the trailer and plan a trip to the scrapyard tomorrow but I'll have to see what it's like in the morning. No point in setting myself up for trouble with a creaky old truck in poor road conditions. Funny how I figured that out for myself before I heard from the weather guys.

Made a stop at one of my favorite places today - the bulk food store. Butter at 2.39/lb, cheese at 3.00/lb, cane sugar at 31.50/50 lbs...it's a great stock up sort of place. It's amazing how much sugar I go through with baking and canning, so I like to keep 100 lbs. or so in the pantry. It's easy to store in food grade buckets with tight fitting lids and it doesn't go bad. I write the contents and date stored on the label, and keep the buckets rotated to use the oldest first.

The rain kept me inside today, and what could I do but fire up the mixer? I've been playing around with an oatmeal muffin recipe that sort of morphed into a cookie recipe. These aren't typical after dinner sweets, they're more of a take along for nourishment sort of thing. Great for that mid-morning pick me up to get through to lunch, energy on a kayak trip, or to stay out in the deer blind without going hungry. They even make a satisfying breakfast with a cold glass of milk.

Feel free to add/subtract as you wish; this recipe seems to be pretty adaptable. I've used store-bought dried cranberries, home dried apples, peaches, and blueberries with equal success. I use the cranberries right out of the package, but partially re-hydrate the home dried fruits before using. I've used regular chocolate chips, mini chips, and leftover Christmas M&Ms too. Enjoy!

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Autumn Glory

About Me

I'm a middle-aged single mom, a stubborn gal of German/Dutch heritage, homesteader, writer, observer and experimenter, trying for a simple life and self-sufficiency. My struggles to re-learn old skills and maintain my small homestead have become a journey of reconnecting to my farming roots and learning of my family history.
I cling to my faith and my family as the most important things in life.
I'm conservative but not a republican; opinionated, a little cranky, and definitely not politically correct.
I go by "Cat" as it has become my nickname in chatting with other homesteaders online. What's it short for? You'll never guess...Catalpa. I use it as my web name because we had a wonderful big old Catalpa tree in our backyard when I was a kid. I have so many great memories of that tree and the tire swing that hung from it's branches. My dream is to build a small off grid home, grow most of my own food or trade for it locally. And in the back yard will be a swing hanging from a giant tree.